


You make it bearable

by Ultimate_Bitch



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angsty teens falling in love, Drug Use, F/F, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Lesbians, M/M, Making Out, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Triggers, drunk shit, gay shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-15 02:29:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8038672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultimate_Bitch/pseuds/Ultimate_Bitch
Summary: Sayaka Maizono has it all. She's beautiful, she's smart and talented. She's on the cheerleading team and gets invited to every party in existence. She's one of the most popular girls in school. But in actuality she's an empty shell of a girl who only has her appearance and her expectations to cling onto. And what better way to pretend she's alive than drowning herself in booze, drugs and sex?Mukuro Ikasaba does not want to exist. She does not want to go to a school where nobody likes her. She does not want to slog through classes filled with useless information and people who have been brainwashed by pop culture. She wants to curl up in a ball and cry and add more scars to her thighs and think about plucking up the courage to end it all.Their two worlds come crashing together and somehow everything becomes a little bit better.





	1. Sayaka Maizono hates life

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: THERE ARE MENTIONS OF ALCOHOL, DRUG AND SEX ADDICTION IN THIS FIC, AS WELL AS MENTIONS OF SELF HARM AND SUICIDE.

Pain. A splitting pain at the back of her head. Pain that traveled down her spine and made her wheeze a silent cry, no sound coming out. 

She lay there on the ground of the school football field, knowing that she was probably bleeding somewhere. If not bleeding then there would be bruises tomorrow. Lots of bruises.

She tried to stand up but the pain in her head got worse. She tasted the vomit in her mouth and she automatically doubled over. She clutched the goal post to keep herself up and tried to bear through the pain and the vomit and the double vision without passing out

"I'm so fucked" Sayaka muttered as she saw a figure approaching her. Probably a teacher. Or maybe a murderer. She couldn't really care less as long as they left her the fuck alone.

~~~~~~

"Are you going to Leon's party tonight?" Sayaka asked her long time friend. She watched as crowds of bickering students slowly trudged their way to wherever they were going. Their endless chatter of school gossip and unfinished homework bored her to death, but it served as good background noise. 

"No, I think I'll just stay at home and work on that history project, maybe watch some t.v," Makoto replied, shutting his locker and shoving some books into his bag. 

Sayaka chuckled and began walking alongside Makoto to their next class. "You never go to any parties!" She grinned.

"Well, I don't drink, so I don't think I'd be very welcome there," Makoto shrugged, opening the door and letting Sayaka in before him. 

The blue haired girl smiled to herself. Despite being a goody-two-shoes and mediocre in every way, Makoto Naegi was welcome anywhere. He was friends with everybody, and he didn't have to keep up appearances in order to be liked.

Personally, Sayaka couldn't wait for the party. Thursday night, beer, liquor, shots. Hot people to have sex with and not hot people to reject. Cigarettes and pot to take her mind off of the pressure of being one of the most popular girls in Hope's Peak. Junko would get people to do shit for her, and Leon would be an asshole, and Sonia would smile and whisper things into Sayaka's ear about how people acted so differently when they were drunk. 

She just wanted to feel alive for a short while, or numb the pain, or somewhere in between. 

She made her way over to her desk where Junko, head cheerleader, had already taken her seat next to it.

"You coming tonight?" Junko asked, applying lip gloss. 

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Sayaka sat down at her desk.

"Good!" Junko grinned and offered Sayaka the pink lip gloss. Sayaka obliged and let the brush glide smoothly along her lips. Truth be told, she hated lip gloss. How sticky and fake it felt. But, whatever, she had standards to meet.

~~~~~~

The whiskey tasted bitter and made the back of her throat burn, but that's what she wanted. She loved the burn.

"Hey, Sayaka!" She turned to see her neon haired classmate sitting next to her on the worn out couch.

"Oh, what's up?" She asked, leaning against Ibuki.

"What do you think is the worst thing somebody will do at this party?" Ibuki asked. She held a joint in between her fingers, and held it up to Sayaka's mouth.

Sayaka took a long drag of the drug, letting it fill her lungs and exhaling it slowly. "...Get pregnant," She said finally. 

"Oo, good call!" 

Sayaka took another swig of whiskey as Ibuki took another puff of the joint. She then climbed into ibuki's lap, straddling her and leaning in close until their lips brushed against each other. Ibuki's lips where soft and tasted like beer. Sayaka held onto her upper classman's chin and pressed their mouths together properly. She ran her tongue along the other's lower lip, feeling the silver ball piercings. 

Ibuki opened her mouth and allowed Sayaka to explore it with her tongue. The kiss was hot and wet and soon Ibuki was nipping at Sayaka's lips and Sayaka was moving her hips against the other girl's. 

A hoot caused Ibuki to break the kiss. Sayaka groaned in annoyance and buried her face in Ibuki's neck, still grinding her hips down to the beat of the rock song that was playing through a speaker somewhere. She inhaled the scent of bubblegum.

"Alright, two hot chicks going at it!" Some dickhead said somewhere. Sayaka didn't care. She just wanted Ibuki's head in between her legs and to feel those lip piercings again. 

She looked up to continue making out with the girl but caught sight of a dark haired girl sitting at a table. She was staring directly at the two, her eyes watering. Sayaka stopped and climbed off of Ibuki. When Ibuki was about to question the sudden disinterest Sayaka jerked her head toward Mikan. 

She walked away from the couch, swaying slightly as she did. She liked Mikan. And Ibuki wasn't Sayaka's to take. Mikan had practically called dibs the day Ibuki came out. The only peron who hadn't realised it was Ibuki herself.

So instead Sayaka went off to find more alcohol. She saw Leon pressing Byakuya Togami up against a wall, a knee in between his legs. Good. At least Leon was occupied and Byakuya was finally getting some action.

She somehow found Sonia in the house, and grabbed the cup she was holding, downing the lot. Then everything became blurry. 

~~~~~~

Sayaka didn't even remember how she got to the school football field. She knew she must have walked, because Leon only lived about 15 minutes away from the school by foot.

How she managed to walk there, was the problem. She was so drunk that the floor was constantly spinning and her vision was fading to black at the edges. She had fallen over onto a rock and her head hurt like hell. And now she was on the ground again.

And somebody was standing in front of her, holding a hand out.

"Junko called me to come get you," 

Sayaka looked up at a girl with short, dark hair and a freckled face. 

"M... Mukuro?"


	2. Mukuro Ikusaba hates life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS SERIOUS SELF HARM TRIGGERS

Pain. Searing pain on her thighs. Pain that her made tears prick up in her eyes every time the blade sliced another line into her skin.

She sat in the shower, feeling the hot water falling onto her head and back. She was hunched over on the shower floor, holding a small, silver blade in between her index finger and thumb. It was stained scarlet and dripping, dripping onto her legs. The droplets mixed with the soapy water and tears and the rest of the blood. 

She liked the shower. It was one of the only times she could be alone and away from the world. She could forget in the shower, almost like the boiling hot water was washing away her bad memories and just replacing them with feelings and steam. Her parents didn't shout at her in the shower. She didn't have to pretend to be ok in front of Junko in the shower. Mukuro Ikusaba didn't exist in the shower, and neither did Hope's Peak high school.

Hands shaking, she placed the blade down on the side of the tub. She breathed in, and out, waiting until her heart beat steadied and the tears stopped. 

Finally she stood up, wincing at the burning in her thighs. Sighing, she rinsed the remaining suds out of her hair.

~~~~~~

"And so then I said, 'oh please, I'm not gonna die _that_ easily!'" Junko grinned, Celestia chuckling at the anecdote. 

Mukuro sat in the back seat of the expensive car, head leaning against the window as symmetrical houses sped past her view. It was lonely riding in Celestia's car as Junko drived, swapping stories with the raven-haired girl and making bitchy comments about their classmates. But at least they didn't have to get on the bus anymore.

After 20 minutes of hearing about Seiko Kimura's drug addiction and Celestia laughing at Yamada's latest attempts at asking her out, they arrived at school.

When the three reached the school entrance, Celestia said her goodbyes, heading off to biology with Kyouko.

Mukuro didn't like Celestia. She was too stuck up, mean and self-absorbed. And Mukuro could tell that Celestia didn't like her, and that the only reason she tolerated her was because she was Junko's sister. 

That seemed to be her relationship with everybody at her stupid high school.

"Hey, sis? Are you ok? You look even more depressed than usual!" Junka exclaimed, grabbing Mukuro's shoulder and swivelling her around to face her.

"I'm fine, just tired," Mukuro smiled weakly at her sister. She wasn't lying, she _was_ tired. And she did want to go to sleep. She just wanted to go to sleep forever. She had been tired for a long time now. 

"Oki doki!" Junko's patented grin returned to her face. "Well, I've gotta go! I'm meeting Matsuda outside English!" She gave a parting wink, walking into the school and disappearing from sight into the crowds of droning high school students.

Mukuro sighed, letting the half hearted smile fall from her lips. She frowned instead and shoved her hands into her dad's old leather jacket. It was the only thing he had ever given her apart from bruises and heartache. 

She was wearing what she always wore. Black skinny jeans to cover the scars, even though it made her thighs sting. A t-shirt with some sort of band logo on the front, black combat boots, and the worn leather jacket. No make up, hair tousled into something half decent.

She didn't care how she looked. Who did she have to impress? As long as nobody saw the scars. 

Nobody could ever see the scars.

Walking down to hallway she headed towards her classroom. As she passed the small cliques of students she wondered if they would even notice if she was gone. Most of them either avoided eye contact or glared at her and said nothing. She wasn't popular enough to be hated or liked. She wasn't nearly visible enough for that. 

All she had was that she was Junko Enoshima's sister. Junko's boring, ugly, disappointing sister. Stupid. Weak. Annoying. Inconvenient. Should just disappear off the face of the earth. Should just have the guts to pick up a fucking knife and slit her own goddamn throat so she wouldn't have to suffer through the embarrassment of living any longer. 

"Um, are you alright?" 

Mukuro hadn't even noticed she was pulling at her hair until Chihiro Fujisaki had gently grasped her wrist, a worried look on their face.

Immediately Mukuro let her hands drop to her sides. She forced an apathetic look back onto her face. 

"I'm fine," She said curtly, walking away from the small blonde and taking a seat at the back of the classroom. 

"Don't worry about her, Chihiro, bitch probably doesn't even know what feelings _are_ ," Mukuro heard a gruff voice, probably Mondo Oowada, from behind her. 

She wished his words were true.

~~~~~~

_Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine-_

Mukuro rushed to pick up her cell phone before it woke her parents up. She read her sister's name as the contact calling her and grumbled, remembering Junko had gone to some party that night.

"Hello?" She answered tiredly, keeping her voice quiet. 

"MUKURO!" She winced at the loud voice on the other end.

"What do you need, Junko? It's..." She looked to her side at the alarm clock. "It's 4:00 in the morning..." 

"Well, ya see Mukuro, our dear friend Sayaka has decided to do a drunk runner!" Mukuro was actually quite taken aback by that. Sayaka was one of Junko's friends that she actually liked. The blue haired girl was sweet, and pretty, and had a nice smile. Mukuro also couldn't imagine her shit faced.

"Uh hu..."

"And, well, it would be a shame if she was ran over or murdered or something, so I think you should go find her!" Junko giggled at the end of her sentence.

"Junko, please don't make me do this..." Mukuro groaned. It was too early for this shit.

Suddenly Junko's voice turned cold, sending chills down Mukuro's spine and freezing her blood. "You don't know what will happen to her, sis. Do you really want to be responsible for Sayaka's death?" 

No, she didn't. She wouldn't care if it was any other of Junko's friends, but she liked Sayaka. Sayaka didn't pretend she wasn't there. Sayaka at least made an effort. 

"...ok..." 

"Yaaaay! Thanks, sis!" Cheeriness returned to Junko's voice and Mukuro hung up the phone before her twin made anymore demands. 

~~~~~

Mukuro had been searching around the neighbourhood for about 40 minutes now. She had already checked at Sayaka's house, but nobody answered the door. 

It finally occurred to her that maybe, somehow, the blue haired girl had ended up on the school grounds. Mukuro headed there in her dad's scratched up old van. She didn't think Sayaka would be particularly happy riding in something that looked like a paedophile's vechile, but she guessed She would be so drunk she wouldn't be able to tell.

As she drove she passed Leon Kuwata's house. Generic rock being played at max volume could be heard from the house, and Mukuro could only imagine how many kids would need their stomach pumped the next morning. Two boys were already passed out in a pile on the porch, and a girl with a ponytail was sat down throwing up into a trash can next to them. Mukuro concluded that even is she was invited to these parties, she would neither go nor enjoy it.

Parking the van in the almost empty parking lot, Mukuro made her way across the lot and towards the school football field, seeing a girlish figure laying on the ground there. Even if it wasn't Sayaka, she supposed she could pick the poor kid up and take them home. 

As she neared the person it become clearer and clearer that they were very much Sayaka, and very drunk. She tried to stand up but fell back onto her ass, looking dazed. 

Mukuro sighed and approached the girl. She held a hand out for Sayaka to pull herself up by.

"Junko called me to come get you" Mukuro explained.

"M... Mukuro?" Sayaka glanced up at her, a puzzled expression gracing her pretty features. Mukuro hadn't any idea why, but the fact that Sayaka remembered her when drunk made her blush a little.

"Yeah, listen, I'll drop you off at your house, ok?" She decided to just pull Sayaka up herself, letting the other lean heavily against her.

"I-" Sayaka hiccuped. "I can't walk... I'll throw up again..." She grimaced, a hand gripping at Mukuro's shoulder.

The dark haired girl sighed. "Can I carry you then?" 

Sayaka hiccuped and nodded. Mukuro, as gently as possible, lifted the girl bridal-style. As soon as she got used to the extra weight she started to walk back towards the car. She felt Sayaka nuzzle into Mukuro's jacket. 

"You smell nice... Like freshly mown grass..." Sayaka mumbled. Her words were slurred so Mukuro could only just make out what she was saying. 

"Thanks, I guess," Mukuro let her lips turn up into a small smile.

"How do you do it?" 

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Smell nice and be pretty and have cute freckles without having to wear make up or perfume or have boobs or anything..." She hiccuped again, and Mukuro couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying. 

"You... You think I'm pretty?" Mukuro asked quietly, turning a deep shade of red. 

"Yeah, but like a real pretty, not a fake pretty. That's the best kind..." Sayaka nuzzled into Mukuro closer. 

Mukuro looked down at the girl in her arms fondly, before realising they had made it back to the parking lot while talking.

~~~~~

Sayaka fell asleep in the passenger seat of the van. Mukuro managed to find her house key in her pocket and carry Sayaka up to her bed. It seems Sayaka's parents were out, which she guessed was a good thing for the girl.

But before she fell asleep Sayaka had said something sleepily. "Coming all the way to the school to find me... You must be a really good person..."

Mukuro kept her eyes on the road. She wasn't a good person at all. Sayaka Maizono was just an exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally posted a second chapter! Also, now that I have watched both despair episode 10 and future episode 11 I am officially dead inside. RIP me. Juzo did not deserve this. CHIAKI DID NOT DESERVE THIS.


	3. Finally somebody different

Physics. Physics was boring. It was supposed to be the mathematical side of science, to break everything in the world down to be explained through formulas and calculations. And Sayaka hated it.

Why should she care? In the long run, physics only explained what was right in front of her, or around her. It didn't explain what really mattered. It didn't explain why she seemed to be so bored of the life she led day in and day out. Nor why she felt like screaming whenever somebody complimented her, why a compliment wasn't enough, why she never felt like she was enough.

Sayaka groaned, forcing the thoughts back down to the deep, dark parts of her mind. 

Her hangover from the night before was killing her. Her headache was about ten times worse than it would normally be thanks to her tripping last night. She had vomited in the sink that morning and she winced away from the pestering light that shone through the many windows of the classroom. 

"Hey, how's my favourite blue-haired babe?" Leon gave a lopsided grin as he took his normal seat next to Sayaka. 

"Shit. How about you?" She smiled back, looking her friend up and down.

Leon sighed deeply. "About the same. Fucking bad hangover, and my house is trashed," 

"Wow, really? After a _high school party_?!" Sayaka feigned suprise, a hand flying up to her mouth.

"Yeah, ok, shut up," The red head gave her a tiny shove, earning a giggle as he did. "Anyway, heard Junko's sister had to pick you up from the school grounds,"

"Yeah, that's right..." Sayaka looked down at her hands and smiled. "It was really nice of her..." Her smile grew as she remembered being held close to Mukuro's chest as she was carried back to her van.

She looked back up at her friend and rolled her eyes at the wiggling of eyebrows directed at her. 

"It's not like that, God, can you think of anything but sex?" Sayaka wrinkled her nose.

"Nope!"

"Oh, by the way, how'd it go with Togami last night?" More students filed into the classroom, taking their respective seats with their respective friends. A few of them shot her and Leon glances, before whispering to their companions. She liked to pretend that she didn't care what they said, but she way secretly burning up inside wanting to know what was so wrong with her that it warranted secrecy. Was it her clothes? Did her hair look bad today? Or did everybody just hate her?

She snapped back to reality when the red head started to talk again.

"It, uh... Didn't work out..." Leon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "We got up to my bedroom, but I threw up and passed out. I woke up alone, which sucks cause Byakuya's actually really cool once you get past all the uncool parts," 

"And hot,"

"Oh, super hot," 

Sayaka was about to make a comment about how Leon was even worse at dating guys than he was at dating girls, but was cut short when she spotted a certain pale, freckled girl walk through the classroom door. 

"Hey! Mukuro! Sit here!' Sayaka waved, patting the seat next to her. 

Mukuro's expression changed from neutral to slight surprise. "Umm... Thanks..." She took the seat on the other side of Sayaka, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you so much for yesterday, I know it must have been an inconvenience," Sayaka apologised. Usually, if it was anybody else, Sayaka would avoid said person and wait for the rumours to die down. But she somehow felt like she could trust Mukuro with seeing her vulnerable side. 

"It's fine, I was just doing what Junko told me to," Mukuro said stiffly, eyes pointed at the desk in front of her.

Sayaka deflated a little at that. It wasn't like she cared about Mukuro's motivations, it was the action that counted. Right? So then why was she upset about hearing that the dark haired girl was only being kind to appease her sister? 

Regardless, Sayaka reminded herself to thank Junko later.

~~~~~~

"Do you get this?" 

Mukuro looked up from her paper to see Sayaka glaring so hard at her own she could bore holes into it. 

"Yes... Don't you?" Mukuro tilted her head at the girl. 

"No!" Sayaka groaned, throwing her pen onto the desk. Mukuro chuckled inwardly at the sight of Sayaka puffing her cheeks out frustratedly. 

"What don't you understand about it?" Mukuro glanced beside Sayaka to see Leon slumped over on his desk, drooling in his sleep. 

Sayaka huffed and pointed to the offending question. "How does it hurt more for someone to stand on your foot in a stiletto than it does for an elephant to step on your foot? It makes no sense!"

"Oh, well the elephant's foot has a bigger surface area, so the pressure is spread evenly where as the stiletto focuses the pain in one place," Mukuro explained, leaning in to point to certain places of the diagram on Sayaka's paper. When she felt the girl's breath tickle her cheek she realised how close she was, and pulled back. 

"Thanks!" Sayaka smiled, seemingly not noticing the invasion of her personal space and instead filling in the question. "Good to know I have a closet full of weapons that do more damage than an elephant,' She giggled. Mukuro liked the sound of Sayaka giggling. 

"Oh! You're smiling!" 

Mukuro's eyes widened as her fingers flew up to tough her lips instinctively. She quickly went back to her normal emotionless expression.

Sayaka frowned. "Don't do that, you look really nice when you smile! You have dimples!" 

"I didn't smile..." Mukuro grumbled, cheeks flaring red.

"Aww, are you embarrassed? Have I just seen a side of Mukuro Ikusaba nobody was supposed to see?" Sayaka gasped melodramatically.

She was actually surprisingly accurate. Mukuro didn't like people seeing her smile, it showed emotion, which showed weakness. 

"I have to say, I'm honoured," The blue haired girl grinned playfully. 

"Well don't be, because I didn't smile. I _don't_ smile..." Mukuro frowned, jabbing a finger into Sayaka's arm. 

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me!" Sayak winked, causing Mukuro the blush even more. "I won't tell anybody the ice queen has feelings," 

~~~~~~

_Riiiiiiiiing._

The school bell sounded through the classroom, signifying the end of lesson. Only four more left to go.

Leon looked around, puzzled. It seems the bell had woken him up from his nap and he let out a pained sound when he realised where he was. Sayaka giggled as he wiped saliva from the corner of his mouth. 

"Bye," She heard from behind her, turning her head to see Mukuro shouldering her bag. 

"Hey, so, you really helped me out with this stuff..." Sayaka said gratefully. Much to her dismay, the subject at hand was utterly confusing to her, however her freckled companion had helped her through anything she couldn't quite grasp. 

Mukuro nodded, prompting her to continue. 

"And, well, I've been looking for a tutor," Sayaka said. "Would you maybe be my tutor?" 

Mukuro looked down at her shoes, her bangs falling in front of her face and obscuring her expression. 

"... I don't think I'm the person you want for that..."

"Why not? You're smart, and nice, and I feel comfortable around you!" Sayaka exclaimed as she listed of the attributes on her fingers. 

Mukuro again hesitated, worrying her lip between her teeth. She looked up at the clock and Sayaka followed her gaze. 

Shit. She needed to get to class. 

Sayaka sighed. "Listen, just think about it? Please?" She ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and quickly scribbled down something, handing the paper over to Mukuro once she was finished.

"That's my number. I need to go to class now, but give me a call when you've made up your mind, ok? Bye, Mukuro!"

And with those parting words, Sayaka hurried out of her classroom. Her heels clicked against the hard floor of the hallway, acting as a beat to the music of chattering teenagers and opening and shutting lockers. 

There was a tingling feeling in her chest, like somebody had injected a load of glitter and pop rocks into her heart. A smile graced her pink lips as she made her way down the hallways, past the crowds of the usual people in their usual cliques. 

Ok, so maybe her intentions for giving Mukuro her number weren't as pure as simply wanting a tutor. Maybe she liked Mukuro. Maybe she wanted to spend time with somebody who was unusual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, sorry this chapter took so long to write. I know it's short but I am currently still trying to get back into the swing of school.
> 
> Oh, also, I don't care what anybody says, the danganronpa 3 ending was amazing and beautiful and I loved it.


	4. Finally some sort of escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: STRONG MENTIONS OF PHYSICAL AND VERBAL ABUSE

Monsters. When you're a kid, you're afraid of monsters. More specifically, a monster. Your monster. 

Some children's monsters would look like the most terrifying personification of a night sky. Not really having a shape, a constant swirling mass of black, with long claws that glinted, a trail of wispy oblivion following it wherever it went. Those children were afraid of the dark.

Other monsters would look like giant, ragged wolves, foaming at the mouth with teeth ready to tear a man in two. Some monsters would have scales, or feathers, or blood stained fur. 

Mukuro Ikusaba's monster was her father. 

~~~~~~

Mukuro remembered that in the 1st grade they would have story time. She always found it tedious, listening to stories of grandeur she knew weren't real. So whenever it was her turn to choose a story she would always just pick some random book off the shelf in their classroom.

Junko made up her stories. They were the only ones Mukuro liked because they were usually based on real life, like how the dinner ladies were actually slugs in disguise feeding them slime, and that's why school lunches tasted so bad. 

But one day Junko told a story Mukuro found too real.

"Once upon a time..." Junko gave a gap-toothed grin at the circle of 1st graders.

"Once upon a time, there was a kingdom a very long way away. That kingdom was ruled by a king and queen, and they had two daughters, princess Junko the beautiful, and Sir Mukuro the brave. They all lived together happily, until one day the king was fired. They lost their kingdom, and their gold, and the king had to work as a lowly plumber for the townsfolk to support his family. 

The queen, princess, and knight were very hungry, and became hungrier still when the king spent all his newly earned gold on a horrible potion. The potion made the king forget he lost his kingdom, but it turned him evil. It turned him so evil that he would start to hurt the knight and princess. He would usually try to hurt the princess first, angry at her because she wanted to spend gold on things like dresses and toys, but the knight would protect her by letting the king hurt her instead. The queen pretended not to notice because she didn't want to imagine that her husband had turned evil. 

One day, when the king had drank way too much potion, he got into a fight with the knight. He threw her against the wall so hard that she broke her arm, and had to go see the witch doctor. When she got back, the king apologised and said he would never do it again," 

All the children in the circle were leaning forward, intent on knowing the rest of the story.

"And he never did, right? The knight and the princess and the king lived happily ever after... Right?" One of them asked, fiddling with their shoelaces. 

Junko shrugged, giggling playfully. "Who knows? It's just a story anyway, nothing to be upset about!" 

Mukuro looked down at the cast on her right arm. 

~~~~~~

Mukuro was up in her room trying to do homework. _Trying_ being the optimal word. 

It was kind of hard to concentrate on Macbeth when the sounds of cheering and distorted voice of a commentator were blasting through her floorboards.

After three more minutes of desperately trying to concentrate, she gave up. Walking as quietly as she could down the stairs, she made her way to the living room.

Her father was sitting on the dirty old couch, a whiskey bottle in his hand, empty beer bottles strewn across the floor, watching the game. 

"Hey, dad," Mukuro spoke, trying to be both quiet and loud enough. 

Her father's eyes stayed glued to the t.v screen.

"Dad, could you turn it down a bit?" She tried again. 

"The fuck you want?" He shot an annoyed glare her way. 

Mukuro's words got caught in her throat as fear over took her body. "I-I just wanted you to turn down the t.v..." 

Her dad grunted but made no move to do anything.

"... Dad?"

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want to! This is my house, it's my rules!" Her father snapped at her, making her wince. He gestured his whiskey towards her, sloshing some of it over himself. 

"Now look what you've made me done, bitch!" 

Anger bubbled up inside of Mukuro. She hated him when he was like this. She hated him when he was drunk, and angry, and shouting at her and now she was getting fucking angry too. 

"That's not my fault, I didn't do anything, it's your fault," Mukuro narrowed her eyes at him.

Slowly, he stood up, reminding Mukuro just how tall he was.

"The fuck did you just say to me?" He approached her, dunkenly swaying. Mukuro eyed the bottle of whiskey he still held. It made the scars on her thighs itch.

But she pressed on. Maybe it was because she wanted to get hurt. Maybe it was because she knew he would hit her anyway. Maybe she just wanted to know she had some sort of pride stored up in her, behind the emotionless mask and scars. 

"I said, it's your own fault," Mukuro forced the words out. Her father looked her dead in the eye, staying silent, a storm brewing.

"You need to stop drinking... Stop getting drunk every night," She said, the pent up frustration pushing its way to the surface. "Stop spending all our money on whiskey, and stop pretending we don't exist!" The mask she desperately clung onto was breaking. "We need a father, a real one! One who doesn't do _this_!" Her voice cracked and she brung her hand up, tearing the sleeve down to reveal a line of cigarette burns. As well as the burns, assorted bruises of different ages and severity adorned her pale skin. 

Her father grabbed her arm, the same one he had broke when she was seven years old. His grip was alarmingly tight as he forced the arm in front of her face. "I gave you these because you were being a stupid, ungrateful brat! It ain't wrong to discipline your own kids, especially when they're ones like you and your slut of a sister!" 

And then she felt pain. Her father had punched her in the face, hard. Her cheek was numb and prickling, her jaw ached and she was on the floor holding her cheek. It hurt so much, it hurt _so fucking much_ , and she was pretty sure her mouth was bleeding.

She didn't even notice Junko coming into the room. She stood in between the two, looking from father to daughter, until understanding washed across her features. She turned to their dad, jaw and fists clenched.

"The fuck is wrong with you?!" Junko exclaimed, her face a picture of pure anger.

"If you bitches are gonna start acting out, you gotta learn that there's consequences!" He shouted back. His face was red and glistening with sweat from the overexertion and heavy drinking. The sound of the game and the telly was being swallowed up by the shouting of the two relatives. 

It made Mukuro's ears ring more than they were before, and she grabbed blindly at the wall, touch-searching for something to pull herself up by. Her other hand was pressed firmly at her face in an attempt to ease the pain.

Long nails dug into her as her sister helped her to her feet, letting Mukuro lean on her. "This, fucking _this_ , is why your family hates you! I hope you fucking burn in hell, you asshole!" Junko was screaming now. There was no way their mother couldn't hear them, but she was probably doing what she always did. Hiding in another room, pretending not to notice the fight, pretending not to notice the bruises.

"If you hate me soooo much, why don't you just fucking leave?!" After that was yelled, the room fell quiet save for the background noise of the t.v. 

Junko's grip on Mukuro tightened as her eyes narrowed. There was a pause as if Junko was weighing her options, and then, a sharp tug on Mukuro's arm. 

" _Fine_ ," Junko spat and stomped out of the room, dragging her sister behind her. 

"What?!" They heard from behind them as they walked down the hallway towards the front door.

"You said maybe we should just leave, and I agreed because I don't want me or my sister to have to spend two more damn seconds in this shithole," Junko gritted out. Her voice wavered but her eyes were laser-focused on the front door with white paint peeling off of it. Mukuro's head was spinning and she wanted to cry but no tears came out, and she wanted to laugh but her throat had closed up on itself until all she could manage was hoarse whimpers. 

She realised that, yes, although her clothes and her things, her trinkets and toys and unfinished homework, all her memories were in this house, all she wanted to do right now was run as far away from it as possible. She had all she really need with her: her phone, her worn leather jacket, a full pack of cigarettes and a lighter, and finally, most importantly, Junko. The only thing that was worth fighting for in that household. 

So out of the house they walked. Through the hallway with manky old carpeting that had alcohol stains and scorch marks. Away from the rickety old stairs and faded wallpaper. Out of the door and past the white van and onto the pavement, and down the street.

All the while they heard their father yelling after them. "Go ahead, leave you skanks! Good riddance, see you in the local whore house cause that's the only place that'll take you bitches in!" He didn't chase after them and they didn't expect him to.

They didn't care, they ignored the shouting and instead held onto eachother's hands like it was a goddamn life line. 

~~~~~~

"Hey, Junko?" 

They had been walking for about half an hour now. Mukuro was familiar with this part of town, she remembered trick-or-treating there with Junko when they were little because all of the houses would just put out bowls of candy and let kids take as much as they wanted. 

"Mm hm?" Junko looked down at her sister. She was, as always, wearing heels.

"Where are we actually gonna go? We're not gonna end up sleeping on the streets are we?" Mukuro asked worriedly, brow furrowed. 

"Nope! Of course not!" Junko stopped and placed a hand on her heart, matching her perfectly arrogant face. "I, Junko Enoshima-Ikusaba, head cheeleader and high school hottie, am the most popular girl at Hope's Peak! We have a wide array of people willing to bow down and let us stay the night!" 

"Really?"

"Well, Celestia will be suuuper grumpy if we wake her up at this time of night, and I don't want to have to deal with her right now. I doubt Sonia's parents will let us stay, and Leon's on full lockdown after the party he had while his parents were out of town..." The pig-tailed girl listed off the not possibilities. 

Mukuro thought for a moment. "How about Sayaka?" She asked. Maybe there was a hint of hope in her voice. Maybe she did want to see Sayaka again. 

Junko smiled and clicked her fingers. "Duh! Sayaka's really nice and her dad's works late hours, it's perfect!" 

So Junko pulled out her mobile phone, clad in a sparkly pink case, and tapped in some random digits into the screen. 

~~~~~~

"So, you guys can borrow some pyjamas, and the spare room has a double bed if you don't mind sleeping together," Sayaka said as she locked the front door behind them.

After a phone call had uncovered that, 1. Sayaka was happy to house them for the night and 2. Sayaka happened to be up at 1:30 in the morning binge watching netflix, the blue haired girl picked them up in her car. The drive was quiet and stocked full of tension. The only conversation they had was about the t.v show Sayaka had been watching when they called. 

And so there they were, standing in the hallway of the Maizono household. It appeared Sayaka's parents, or her father, weren't home at the moment. Well, at least it meant fewer questions.

Sayaka obviously wanted to ask why they needed shelter at this time of night, why Mukuro's cheek was red and slightly swollen, why Junko, despite her smile, had a frustrated, crushed look in her eyes. But those questions could wait for tomorrow.

 _Tomorrow_ , Mukuro thought as she climbed into a bed she had never slept in before, in heart-patterned pyjamas that belonged to a girl she was in no way close to. Tomorrow was a new day full of hope and despair, and strange houses and blue haired pretty girls, and questions.

She fell asleep with Junko's arms around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, wow, this took so long to write and I apologise. 
> 
> I'm also sorry cause I re-read the last chapter and it is totally rushed but I don't want to have to re-write it and _bleh_
> 
> But anyway I'm gonna write a KuzoPeko prompt fill and then write another chapter to this.
> 
> Also I may be considering a Scott Pilgrim/danganronpa fic with Mukuro as Scott and Sayaka as Ramona...

**Author's Note:**

> Yoooo, so I've decided to write a fic on one of my favourite dangan ronpa ships and I've also decided to make it extra angsty. Please enjoy!~


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